Battlefield 6

Battlefield 6 is an upcoming first-person shooter game developed by Battlefield Studios^[a] and published by Electronic Arts. Serving as the eighteenth installment in the Battlefield series, the game will release on October 10, 2025 on PlayStation 5, Windows and Xbox Series X/S.

Battlefield 6
Developer(s)	Battlefield Studios[a]
Publisher(s)	Electronic Arts
Series	Battlefield
Engine	Frostbite
Platform(s)	PlayStation 5 Windows Xbox Series X/S
Release	October 10, 2025
Genre(s)	First-person shooter
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

The game's single-player campaign is set in 2027 and features a conflict between a fractured NATO and Pax Armata, a private military company.

Gameplay

Similar to its predecessors, Battlefield 6 is a first-person shooter. The game is set in 2027, and involves a conflict between a fractured NATO and a private military company named Pax Armata.^[1][2] The game features four gameplay classes: Assault, Engineer, Support, and Recon. The Assault class is proficient with assault rifles and grenade launchers and favors a run-and-gun playstyle with faster health regeneration. The Engineer class uses submachine guns, can repair friendly vehicles, and specializes in destroying hostile vehicles with rockets. The Support class excels with light machine guns and supports teammates by resupplying ammo, placing makeshift cover, and healing and reviving allies. The Recon class can carry out battlefield reconnaissance, uses sniper rifles, and is ideal for long-range engagements as a headshot kill prevents opponents from being revived.^[3] While any class can use any weapon, each class has unique gameplay perks when using specific weapons. For example, Recon players can hold their breath while aiming with a sniper rifle.^[4] Weapons can be extensively customized with mods, but each weapon has a designated attachment point limit that cannot be exceeded.^[5]

The game also introduces several quality-of-life improvements, including a new movement system called the "Kinesthetic Combat System", which allows players to lean around cover, hitchhike onto vehicles, and drag fallen soldiers to safety before reviving them.^[4] As with previous entries in the series, the game emphasizes environmental destructibility. Buildings can be demolished with explosives, and obstacles or floors can be destroyed to create new paths. Maps are sprawling, suitable for both infantry and vehicular combat. Each map also includes "Combat Zones"—smaller, more confined areas designed for close-quarters combat.^[6] The game features nine maps at launch, and the development team planned to add more maps to the game through post-launch updates.^[7]

In addition to the single-player campaign, the game offers multiple multiplayer modes, including returning modes such as Conquest, Breakthrough, Rush, Team Deathmatch, Squad Deathmatch, Domination, and King of the Hill. The battle royale mode from Battlefield V is expected to return in the game. A new mode, Escalation, pits two teams against each other as they seek to control capture points in a map. However, the number of points gradually decreases, funneling players into specific map areas.^[8] The Portal map creation tools introduced in Battlefield 2042 returns, and it includes a new editor powered by the Godot engine.^[9]

Development and release

Battlefield 6 is developed by DICE, Criterion Games, Motive Studios and Ripple Effect Studios, which was formerly known as DICE LA, under the collective branding of Battlefield Studios.^[10] Before the studio's closure in 2024, Ridgeline Games was also involved in the game's development, focusing on the single-player campaign.^[11] DICE leads the game's multiplayer development. Motive and Criterion lead the development of game's single-player campaign, with Motive also contributing to multiplayer map design. Ripple Effect Studios is currently leading the development of the game's battle royale mode. It will be the first mainline Battlefield title released since Vince Zampella was put in charge of the franchise.^[12] In July 2025, Ars Technica reported that the game faced significant development challenges, including team burnout and exhaustion, cultural clashes among the four studios, unrealistic sales expectations from EA, and a ballooning budget far exceeding $400 million.^[13]

Following the mixed responses to Battlefield 2042, EA launched "Battlefield Labs", a closed-access worldwide playtest for Battlefield 6, allowing DICE to collect feedback from players and make gameplay adjustments.^[14] Battlefield 3 and Battlefield 4, described by Zampella as the "heyday" of the franchise,^[15] were cited by the team as their main sources of inspiration, and the team added that the game will have a "serious" tone.^[16] Battlefield: Bad Company 2 influenced the creation of the game's "Tactical Destruction" system,^[17][18] and the team made an intentional design choice to prevent players from destroying all buildings in a map.^[19] It will also be the first Battlefield game since Battlefield 4 to include a linear narrative campaign.^[20] Motive further added that Lioness and Civil War, stories about "talented but ordinary people put in extraordinary situations", inspired the team.^[21]

In February 2025, publisher Electronic Arts announced Battlefield Labs and released gameplay from a pre-alpha build of the game.^[22] By March 2025, early gameplay footage from Battlefield Labs had been leaked online by playtesters.^[23] The game's title was leaked early in July 2025 when EA sent packages to influencers featuring the Battlefield 6 logo.^[24] The game was officially revealed as Battlefield 6 on July 22, 2025.^[25][26] Two open beta periods were held in August 2025.^[27] The first open beta period attracted more than 500,000 players to try the game.^[28][29] The game is scheduled for release on October 10, 2025, on PlayStation 5, Windows and Xbox Series X/S.^[30]

Notes

1. Battlefield Studios (BF Studios for short) is a collaborative effort between DICE, Ripple Effect Studios, Criterion Games, and Motive Studio; Ridgeline Games also contributed to its development before its closure in 2024.